Forfar Nursing Scholarship Awarded for 2012

The scholarship advisory committee of the Barbara “Foof” Forfar Nursing Scholarship Fund is pleased to announce that they have awarded nursing scholarships totaling $3,000 to six members of the Ocean Medical Center staff. Samantha Bernard (Brick), Juana Maria Buergo (Freehold), Andrea Clauser (Point Pleasant), Jodi Imperato (Howell), Sharon Lubeck (Brick) and Nicole Marie Ortiz (Toms River) were presented six individual $500 scholarships during an award ceremony held Wednesday afternoon, September 19 on the OMC main campus in Brick.

The ceremony marks the second time in as many years that scholarships have been awarded to Ocean Medical Center employees from the scholarship fund.

The six 2012 scholarship recipients were selected by the Barbara “Foof” Forfar Nursing Scholarship Fund Scholarship Advisory Committee from fifteen total applicants after the committee reviewed all scholarship applications and supporting documents from each of the candidates who applied.

Samantha Bernard patrols the halls of 4 North at OMC and is a valued team member of the ACE Unit (Acute Care of the Elderly). She holds a BA degree in Psychology from Farleigh Dickinson University and is pursuing her RN degree at the Ocean County College School of Nursing with an expected graduation date of May 2013. Samantha is a member of the Sunshine and Safe Patient Committees at OMC.

Juana Buergo received her RN degree in 1986 and is currently pursuing her BSN at the Kean University School of Nursing at Ocean with an expected graduation date in the fall of 2015. She is a long-time member of the OMC Operating Room team and was at one time mentored by the scholarship namesake Barbara Forfar. Juana co-chaired the OMC Operating Room Committee from 2005 to 2009 and is also a Safety Officer at OMC.

Andrea Clauser hails from the Oncology Department located on 4 East at OMC. She is pursuing her RN at Ocean County College School of Nursing with an expected graduation date in May 2014. Andrea is an active participant in TCAB (Transforming Care at the Bedside) as well as the OMC Patient Satisfaction Committee.

Jodi Imperato is a well-respected, passionate and committed team member of the Critical Care Unit (CCU) who began nursing at the age of 19 and has already obtained her RN, CCRN and BSN. She is pursuing her MSN at Walden University with an expected graduation date of January 2014. Jodi is a member of the Critical Care and Restraint Committees of OMC.

Sharon Lubeck has been a valued team member since 1982 starting her career at Point Pleasant Hospital and is currently part of the Post Anesthesia Care Unit (PACU) at OMC. She is pursuing her BSN degree at University of Phoenix with an expected graduation date in May of 2013. Sharon was also mentored by scholarship namesake Barbara Forfar in 2006 when Lubeck became a new member of the PACU department at the former Brick Hospital now Ocean Medical Center.

Nicole Ortiz also spends her time on the halls of 4 North as a valued ACE team member and has a passion for geriatric nursing practices. She is pursuing a MSN at the Seton Hall University School of Nursing with an expected completion date in 2014. Nicole received Clinical Scholar status in Geriatrics in 2008 and has co-chaired the OMC Research Committee since 2010.

The Barbara “Foof” Forfar Nursing Scholarship Fund was established on January 15, 2011 and is part of the Ocean Medical Center Foundation family of funds.

The fund provides monetary assistance to qualified nurses and nursing students of Ocean Medical Center who desire to continue their formal education in nursing profession in the form of scholarships and awards one (or more) nursing scholarship during September of each year to eligible applicants.

During its short 18-month history, The Barbara “Foof” Forfar Nursing Scholarship has awarded $4,500 total to 9 nurses and nursing students of Ocean Medical Center.

The Barbara “Foof” Forfar Nursing Scholarship Fund was established to honor the memory of long-time Point Pleasant resident Barbara Forfar or “Foof” as she was called by her fellow nurses and other colleagues in the operating room, and her forty-four years of dedication to the nursing profession with all but three years of her service associated with the Ocean Medical Center or its predecessor hospitals.

To qualify for the scholarship, the applicant must be an employee or nursing student at Ocean Medical Center and must be enrolled in a RN program, an upper division program (RN to BSN) or advanced degree program (MSN, PhD) in nursing.

All Ocean Medical Center nurses and nursing students from all OMC practice areas were eligible to apply. The scholarship must be used to supplement tuition, fees, lab costs, books or educational supply expenses.

The 2012 scholarship application due date was July 16.

For more information about Barbara “Foof” Forfar Nursing Scholarship Fund, please visit the official scholarship website at www.forfarscholarship.org